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Summary

Riker and Worf are summoned to Nacelle Control where LieutenantDaniel Kwan is on the catwalk about to jump into the plasma stream. Riker tries to talk Kwan down from the catwalk. Kwan replies by saying, "I know what I have to do." Kwan then jumps into the plasma stream. After Kwan's suicide the ship's crew is shocked.

CaptainPicard states that he's had to notify families of Starfleet personnel deaths, but never a suicide. He puts Worf and CounselorTroi in charge of an investigation, in order to explain Kwan's death to his family and "help them put this in perspective." Picard gives them the right to look at Kwan's personal logs. One of the first people questioned in the investigation is Kwan's girlfriend EnsignCalloway. Calloway says that Kwan was pretty much happy and easy-going. Calloway also says that Kwan didn't seem like the kind of person that would take his own life. Worf and Deanna have already agreed that Kwan didn't seem the type to take his own life. In Kwan's personal logs he mentioned that he had pulled double shifts and looked forward to seeing Calloway.

The empathic impression

Troi decides that it is time to see Nacelle Control. She examines his workstation, then climbs to the platform where Kwan died. There she is overwhelmed by a strong empathic impression. After being examined by Doctor Crusher, she is told to wait a few hours before returning to the nacelle tubes.

Worf, from his experience in the alternate realities where he was married to Troi, begins to think about starting a relationship with her. He asks Riker if it would be alright for him to date someone he was close to. Riker says that it wouldn't be his choice. Then Worf asks if there is anyone that Riker prefer he not date on the ship. Riker laughs and says that Worf is beginning to sound like he's asking him if he can date his (Riker's) sister. Worf realizes he's getting nowhere with the hints and leaves Ten-Forward.

The man and woman

Later, Troi returns to Nacelle Control with Worf. This time, she has a vision of a man and a woman, one of them in danger. She can tell it is in the cell where the plasma stream is held. Then the vision is of a man and a woman laughing at her, but not actually her, but whoever's eyes she was looking though. After the vision Worf takes Troi to Dr. Crusher. Crusher assumes that because Kwan was half-Napean that he may have gotten the same vision as Troi. Since the Napeans are also telepathic it is a possibility. Crusher also tells Troi that she may be able to give her an inhibitor in order to manage the emotions she was feeling during the experience.

While waiting for the inhibitor to synthesize, Troi goes over the computer logs to see if anybody else aboard the Enterprise had worked with Kwan in the building of Nacelle Control. In the logs she sees the man from her vision: LieutenantWalter Pierce. Troi and Worf decide to question Pierce about if he remembers anything about Kwan or from during the building of the Enterprise. Pierce doesn't tell Troi and Worf much of anything. Troi can't tell if Pierce is lying or what Pierce is really feeling, but thinks he may be lying.

Worf escorts Troi to her quarters. Worf says that maybe they should start earlier the next morning. Worf then says good night, but doesn't leave. Worf takes Deanna's hand, touching her hand to his face, then sniffing her hand. Worf then embraces Deanna in a kiss, a long kiss.

The next morning Worf is still in Deanna's quarters. Crusher comms both of them to the infirmary. They walk in together. Troi notices the way Worf acts toward Ensign Calloway. This leads Troi to later ask if Worf is sorry for having been with her. Worf says no.

Troi goes to investigate the cell where the plasma stream is kept. LieutenantNara states that Kwan had been in the cell the day before he had jumped. After Geordi removes one of the bulkheads he detects HumanDNA. Troi gets another vision of the woman being attacked. Geordi and Data remove a skeleton. Ensign Calloway sequences the DNA sample and matches it to Starfleet records and finds Marla Finn. Troi says that Marla Finn was the woman in her vision. She says that something doesn't match up and pulls up Lieutenant Kwan's record. She realizes that it could not have been Kwan's eyes she was seeing through as he wasn't posted to the Enterprise until 6 months after Finn's death. It must have been either of the men in the vision. She realizes that it was Lieutenant Pierce's eyes she was seeing through when she sees her reflection in the computer panel. Troi finally understands that Pierce must somehow have telepathic abilities since she could not read his emotions before and because she also sees him in the visions.

Troi and Worf head to ask Pierce some questions, but Worf says that the inhibitor may still leave him lying so Worf goes to question him alone. Troi returns to her quarters when Pierce shows up. Pierce says that Worf told him to go to Troi. Troi asks where Worf is and Pierce says that he is with Ensign Calloway. Troi finds Worf and Ensign Calloway in a kissing embrace. The two start to laugh at her. She responds to the laughter by shooting Worf dead. Distraught, she then runs to Nacelle Control, running into Lieutenant Pierce who tells her, "'You know what you have to do'." She gets to the nacelle tubes, opens the plasma panel and walks up to the catwalk and stares into the plasma saying, "I know what I have to do." Just as she is about to jump into the plasma, Worf grabs her by the shoulder, whereupon it is revealed that her uniform has changed. The preceding events were a hallucination going back to the first moment she stood in the spot where Kwan committed suicide.

The interior of the nacelle.

The investigation ends with Troi telling Picard that Kwan had been affected by some sort of telepathic left-over from Pierce's memories. It turns out that Pierce had found his girlfriend Marla Finn in an embrace with another man. Pierce had shot them both. Pierce then ran to Nacelle Control and jumped into the plasma stream. The reason the account seemed to be sent telepathically is because one of Pierce's grandmothers had been Betazoid. Worf asks Troi why she had seem surprised to see him alive when he pulled her from her hallucination. Troi replies that in her version of the vision, Worf was killed. Worf asks her who killed him, and Troi replies, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Memorable Quotes

"Counselor. When I pulled you from the plasma stream you seemed... surprised I was alive."
"Well, actually... in my hallucination, you were killed."
"May I ask by whom?"
"Well, you know what they say, Mr. Worf. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.""

- Worf and Troi

"They laughed at me!"

- Daniel Kwan, shortly before committing suicide

"Is there someone in particular that you're talking about?"
"No. Is there someone in particular you would rather I not be involved with?"
"Mr. Worf, you sound like a man who's asking his friend if he can start dating his sister!"
"No! No, I was merely... never mind. Excuse me, sir."

Continuity

This episode continues the romance between Troi and Worf, albeit in illusory form since much of the episode takes place in Troi's imagination.

According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, imaginary scenarios are usually shown only from the character's point of view. This episode breaks that convention by showing Dr. Crusher speaking in Sickbay as she pages both Troi and Worf on the morning after they begin their affair.

In Nacelle Control, after Troi was injected with the empathic inhibitor, the prop Commander La Forge uses is identical to the Interphasic scanner seen in "Phantasms".

While Troi and Worf are discussing Troi's grandfather, Worf states, "Yes, I too have sought visions in fire." This statement alludes to "Rightful Heir", in which Worf travels to a temple on Boreth in an attempt to see a vision of Kahless.

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